Heroes Never Die
by HeartlessAlchemyst
Summary: Zindan. A glorified waiting room for the recently deceased. But there was just one problem...Sora had no idea how, when or where he died. Now some angelic voice tells him he must join with his new "Familia" of fellow Spirits and find "Nirvana" by any means necessary. Success grants paradise BEYOND paradise. But failure will be met with silence...forever. No Heaven OR Hell.
1. Who the Hell do you think I am!

Silence. Sora felt nothing in this ambient void but the weight of his own thoughts.

"If this is a dream; it's the longest and most BORING dream ever."

As he drifted off even further into the abyss; he waited for a sign. Something...ANYTHING to grasp at. Finally, a voice called out to him. It was faint and inaudible but he could feel it. Reaching...reaching out to the direction of the voice as if to take hold of the voice itself like a lifesaver in a stormy sea. He got close enough that the voice seemed to reach back and took hold of his existence.

"Sorry to keep you waiting. It's been pretty hectic around here. Welcome to Zindan, Sora!"

The voice was chipper, full of warmth and carefree spunk. For a moment Sora wondered if he was talking to himself. But that thought faded as soon as his vision cleared up. The blurry figure took shape as a boy only slightly taller than himself with a similar mess of a brown hair and blue eyes. He carried an elegant bow with no drawstring and behind his vaguely "Olympian-looking" clothes Sora spotted what looked like angel wings...though they looked a bit too small to let him fly.

After determining the identity of the voice that called out to him; Sora then began to examine his surroundings. The walls were pulsating with a strange light like blood flowing through veins. The ground he sat on was hard but somewhat loose and shifty. Looking behind him to what seemed to be what this boy pulled him out of was a large cylinder device that went connected at the floor and ceiling. The device was an oddity in of itself, seeming to be completely opposed to the design of the rest of the room in ways Sora didn't even comprehend. The whole room moved and behaved in way that was very alive; almost like it was...breathing.

"You look lost. Let me explain. First of all, my name is Pit. And this place...is actually a spaceship. A LIVING spaceship! It's apparently classed as Leviathan. Don't worry! She's friendly."

Sora looked at him for a moment like he was speaking an alien language.

"S-she?"

"That's right! Her name is Moya. I guess the best way to describe it is...imagine she's a giant space whale-"

"Okay. Nevermind. It all makes sense."

"Wait...REALLY?! Wow! You're waaaay quicker on the uptake than the other guy."

"There are others?"

"Yep. He's on the bridge, I think. I'll take you to him."

Pit helped Sora onto his feet as they exited the room through a door that behaved more like an artery valve than an actual door. Sora wasn't too bothered by Moya's interior though. It was like a much more "techy" version of Monstro. Pit led him down the long halls of Moya's interior as Sora noticed a few little yellow Roomba-looking robots with stalk eyes beeping and buzzing as they move in seemingly random directions. Sora pointed at the drones as the two of them walked by.

"Uhhh…."

"Those are DRD's They're like Moya's white blood cells or antibodies. Don't mess with them if you don't wanna get zapped...or worse. And before you ask - no. I don't know what the "DRD" stands for."

"Aren't you the Captain?"

"Hmm? No. This isn't MY ship. It's YOURS. Well, yours to SHARE. I'm just here to get you up to speed and integrated with your…co-captain, I guess."

Sora tried his best to make sense of Pit's explanation. He didn't want to pester him with too many questions. He got the feeling this guy has done this a LOT of times before and is probably going to be doing many more times. But still; there was one question that Sora has been dying to ask.

"What...happened to me?"

"...Oh, you're dead."

So casually. Like it just wasn't even a big deal at all. Sora was now far more confused than he ever thought possible. How did this angel boy accomplish this feat of ultimate confusion.

"W-what are you talking about?! How?! When?! Where?! WHY?!"

"...Why are you yelling? I get finished off all the time. The other guy wasn't this shocked about it. Buuut...I guess he had time to make his peace before he gave out. Your death must have happened suddenly."

"...You mean...I died instantly? I never saw it coming? Or was I poisoned? Died in my sleep? I fought the Lingering Will?! What was it?!"

"Stop yelling! I don't know!"

"...S-sorry. You didn't deserve that."

"You seem like a nice guy, Sora. I want to believe whatever happened to you was an ACCIDENT. But regardless...it doesn't matter. You're dead. You're a Spirit. You're here now. And no amount of answers will undo what happened."

"...I...understand. I guess...I'll try to make the most of it. I'm sure Heaven won't be that bad."

"Heaven? Oh no. This isn't Heaven. Zindan is in between Heaven and Hell. If you want to get into Heaven...well...you gotta FIND it. Find Nirvana. But don't worry. You won't have to do it alone."

"You'll help me?!"

"Nope."

"...-_-..."

"Your Familia will help you. Spirits like yourself who have been chosen by Gozet to join you."

"Familia?"

"Basically, your TEAM. You explore together, you fight together, you win together...you lose together. You've been given a mark to distinguish yourself and show which team you belong to."

Realizing what he meant; Sora begins searching all over his body for any new markings and sure enough...he finds a crown shaped tattoo over the center of his chest.

"I got a tattoo!? Mom's gonna kill me…Oh, wait. So, does this mean that my Familia will all have this same mark?"

"Yep. Now I gotta go. Lot's of new Spirits to pull out of Nihilism and Gozet doesn't like me wasting time. You're Familia is right through there. Make you get along and wait with him for the REST of your Familia...when I get to it...eventually...probably...hopefully...on time. Well, bye now!"

After pointing Sora towards the bridge, Pit turns and darts off to a glowing corridor that seemed to come from nowhere. Pit didn't exactly inspire confidence with his promise, but Sora felt like he would at least do his best. But Sora couldn't worry about that right now. Behind this door was one of the people he would be teaming up with to make his way to paradise...and maybe get some closure along the way. Sora put on his signature friendly smile and prepared to make a his grand entrance as he stepped across the threshold and the doors automatically opened.

"Hey there! I'm Sora! What's your name?"

Sora's friendly smile slowly evolved into one of awe and excitement as he took in the "coolness" of his new friend. A man with messy blue hair, sharp sunglasses, a tattered cloak with a flaming skull wearing similar glasses on the back, and a samurai sword at his belt. As expected; he also had the same crown tattoo on his mostly bare chest. This guy was the embodiment of a badass. The man was sitting in what was probably the captain's chair with his feet kicked up on the console. He pulled up his glasses to get a good look at Sora before he smirked and answered.

"Dumbass! Who the hell do you think I am?! The legend of Team Gurren echoes far and wide! When they talk about its badass leader; a man of indomitable will and masculinity, they're talking about ME! The mighty KAMINA!"

 ***Surprise. I'll be doing this story for a while. FH:KoT will be put on a short hiatus. Until I get used to my new work schedule. In the meantime; there will be plenty of new characters from various other series put into this story(both in Sora's Familia and others). However, I can make room for TWO more. I'll let you guys decide. The rules are: #1| The character has to have died at some point during their story. 2| One character per series/franchise. 3| It has to be from a series I'm at least familiar with. (I don't want to butcher characters because I don't know them. So if you're not sure, ask me.) 4| You can leave your suggestion in a review or a PM. It will come down to whether I decide I want them in or not, but I am open to have my mind changed if you can provide a solid reason. ***


	2. Cold Heart

A similar process to the one Pit completed with Sora was being performed in a ANOTHER Leviathan ship. A little white...creature that resembled a cat is what he managed to yank out this time. It glowed like a firefly in the night with antennae coming out of its head and large pitch black eyes staring back at the angel.

"I'm sure you have many questions, Ori. But don't worry. I can explain."

Back on Moya, Kamina was arguing with Sora over how to take control of the ship.

"What the hell do you mean?! I don't understand! Not one bit!"

Kamina yelled at the boy for refusing to cooperate.

"I'm saying you can't just FORCE yourself into control of Moya! That's bad! Didn't you ever learn to respect women?!"

"Are you frickin kidding me?! This thing...this...woman - whatever you wanna call it - is just another Gunman to me. With this Core Drill of mine, I'll drill right through her and take control with manly spirit!"

Kamina proclaimed loudly as he pulled out a necklace with a tiny drill on it that blinked blue. Sora was too distracted by Kamina's word choice to pay attention to the knick knack.

"Agh! Why did you have to say it like that?!"

"Whatever! Outta the way, Sora! My drill is the drill that will ride the waves to Heaven!"

"At least ask for her permission first! Ya know...TRY to be a gentleman about it."

Sora was dead set on protecting Moya from violation and Kamina couldn't help but give in and yield to Sora's request out of respect for his commitment to his principles. He figured he'd humor Sora. After all; there was no way this thing could respond.

"Alright already. Uh...Moya? You wouldn't mind if took over for ya, right? If you're alright with me having my way here; SAY NOTHING..."

"..."

"Welp. There ya have it. Now step aside and let me-"

"NOT SO FAST, BOY!"

"What the hell?!"

Kamina jumped over the captain's chair by reflex as Sora seemed shocked as well, but to a lesser degree. It was clearly a woman's voice that just spoke to Kamina, but it didn't sound like it came from the ship itself. It sounded like it came from just outside the room. As Sora cautiously stepped towards the door to investigate, Kamina peeked up from behind one of the control consoles a little spooked.

"M-Moya? Was...was that you? I...I didn't mean to make you angry."

Sora opened the door and poked his head out as he looked up and down the hall. He caught the faintest glimpse of a figure passing behind the corner at the end of the hall.

"Kamina! I saw someone! Quick! Let's go after...uh..."

Sora trailed off as soon as he looked to find Kamina petting and kissing the console apologetically.

"...Or...ya know...you can stay here and...guard the bridge...I guess?"

Immediately leaving the awkward Kamina to "kiss and make up" with Moya; Sora gave chase to the individual he was sure he saw. The assailant caught wind that they were being followed and began to pick up the pace as they gave up on being sneaky. Sora could now clearly hear footsteps. It sounded like they were wearing high heels or something. This person was quick, but Sora had his athletic flow on his side. As he gained on them, the air began to get colder and colder; which seemed to have a negative effect on Moya. The light-based "blood" that Sora saw running through her veins on the walls looked to be slowing down, making her sluggish.

 _Cold...Chill...Freezing._

Stopping dead in his tracks; Sora considered the voice he just heard. It sounded like it came from everywhere and it reverberated throughout the whole ship. THAT was definitely Moya this time. The cold makes her frail; at least on the inside. In that moment, Sora a flash of inspiration.

"...Sorry, Moya."

Sora summoned his Keyblade and struck the freezing wall. It cracked and a vessel burst open; spewing out the strange liquid/light substance. The damage was also accompanied by a deep moan and growl. It hurt Sora almost as much as Moya but hopefully it was worth it. Without a moment's delay, Sora could hear the DRDs beeping blaring their sirens in the distance. Just as he thought; whenever Moya is in pain or distress, the DRDs come to alleviate her stress. As two little yellow oval-shaped robots came and sprayed a fluid that seemed to soothe Moya's damaged body, another one came from behind and zapped Sora in the back of the neck. He went out like a candle.

He awoke a little while later to Kamina looking over him as he lied on a medical table.

"Hey! Welcome back to the land of the living...oh wait..."

"Kamina? What happened?"

Sora rubbed his neck around the burn mark left from the zap.

"The DRDs took you out. Those little bastards have got some serious fighting spirit. Guess they didn't like you hurting Moya like that. I thought you said we should respect women more."

Sora gave him an irritated glare along with a corresponding groan. But he shook his head and moved on to the more pressing concern.

"What about the guy I was chasing? He was making Moya cold and adding to her discomfort so the DRDs-"

"They gottem! They let you off easy. Probably because Moya likes you. But the girl? Not so much."

"Girl?"

"Well..."

Kamina leads Sora to the ship's brig where the DRDs imprisoned Sora's target. Kamina finishes his thought as Sora already begins to understand what it was.

"The term GIRL doesn't seem appropriate, does it?"

A woman sat behind bars and wrapped in a complex weave of restraints. She had long blue hair that probably reached down to her knees with matching eyes and even eyelashes. Her outfit was reminiscent of a WWII German officer, but with a miniskirt and thigh high boots as well as excessive amount of cleavage. She WAS carrying a rapier sword with her but that was confiscated by the DRDs. However, her appearance wasn't what made them uneasy...well maybe for Kamina it was. But Sora could feel something about this woman. An aura; sadistic and sinister in nature. As if her sheer presence had a physical form of its own and was trying to strangle him...but not kill him...not right away.

"Do I intimidate you boys?"

Sora felt a chill crawl up his spine and latch onto it like a parasite. He couldn't get his thoughts in order; he was feeling a mixture of fear and awe. Like he was standing before a blizzard...from hell. Although Kamina had plenty of grit to parade his backbone around with pride.

"Like hell you do! I've met a girl who's got meat that's WAY more impressive than yours!"

"I see...so only ONE of you is smart enough to know what I was talking about. Well, I suppose there's room for improvement with BOTH of you. Not that I don't enjoy this form of punishment; but we really MUST get to work. Release me. NOW."

"HA! And you called ME stupid?! Why the hell would we do that?!"

She smiles in a most malicious manner as she lifts her head to reveal that just underneath her V-shaped tattoo, she has another mark. Sora's crown. Sora looked at her in shock and disbelief as she whispers tauntingly.

"Because you shouldn't treat your Familia like this."

After a long moment of silence, Kamina begrudgingly agreed and directed the DRDs to open the door. Sora was nearly floored by Kamina's acceptance.

"Whoa! Excuse me?! Kamina, what the hyuk are you doing?!"

"She's part of our team. ...Whether we like it or not. Angel boy told me if you don't accept your Familia members WHOLEHEARTEDLY...then he'll take 'em to a Familia that would and you won't get a replacement. Meaning if we accept her, we have to learn to live with her. But if we reject her, then we gotta FIGHT her. Is that what you want?"

Sora looked back at her. Her presence, her aura, her tone, her...smell. The smell of blood. Everything about her was WRONG. She was raising every red flag in existence right now. But he didn't have a choice. It's victory or oblivion. Rejecting her meant fighting her alongside a whole Familia while his Familia would be at a permanent disadvantage state. Plus, despite her terrifying nature; she seemed to extremely proficient leadership, tactics and of course combat. As he hates to admit it, she may even be able to...teach him some things. Hopefully nothing that would scar him forever or turn him into a psychopath.

"...Fine. But you're gonna have to work really hard to prove yourself trustworthy. Got it!"

He uses his Keyblade to release her from the restraints as she stands up and approaches him face-to-face. He felt like she loomed over him like a cat playing with it's prey as she leaned down to him with a slightly more reserved smile.

"Hmm. So stubborn. But I WILL do my best to show you the true value of my strength."

She lightly caresses his cheek with her cold hands but Sora quickly slaps it away and tries to change the subject as soon as possible.

"A-anyway! We never got your name..."

"...It's Esdeath. General Esdeath."


	3. Oneshot to get it right

Sora, Kamina and Esdeath gathered in a circular room inside Moya. The DRDs directed them their like bloodhounds chasing a perp; no doubt to discuss their plans and the chain of command. Two captains was one thing, but that captain's chair wasn't big enough for the three of them. The three of them sat around a large round table as Kamina was the first to start the discussion.

"Alright! So after thinking long and hard; I've decided that Sora should be MY second in command!"

Esdeath shrugged. At least he was consistent; even if it was consistently idiotic.

"Tell me, were you always this stupid and overconfident or did you have to work on it? I mean really...you think YOU should be in charge? Absurd. Do you live under a rock?"

"I was BORN under one, thank you very much!"

"Well, I'm sure that rock is missing you greatly right now. You made it seem smarter by comparison."

"You sunnova-...I'll come over there and kiss your feet if you can tell me ONE PERSON who misses YOU!"

"..."

Sora almost wanted to chastise Kamina for that comment. But it didn't look like it really bothered her that much. Sora was being awfully considerate of Esdeath; mostly just to stay on her good side. But even her "good side" wasn't all the great, so he shuddered to think what her BAD side might be. Kamina's attempts at pissing her off were not helping. Sora thought he should jump in before things got out of hand.

"Why don't we just go around and talk about our...leadership...qualities...and stuff? O-okay?"

The two of them ceased their bickering and decided to take Sora's advice. Again; Kamina was the first to pipe up.

"I'll go first. I'm a leader of a band of freedom fighters called Team Gurren. We fought against the Beastmen using their own weapons; Gunmen. I pilot my mecha, Gurren and kick serious ass. I gotta be leader...Who the hell do you think I am?"

"Uh...Kamina? I thought we already discussed this? Anyway, if you're done...I am the most decorated and feared General in the Empire. I have slain no less than 10,000 men of my own power, I have conquered and laid waste to dozens of civilizations and rebellions. I also wield the Imperial Arm known as Demon's Extract; the blood of a draconic Danger Beast that gives me full command over the element of ice. I've won many wars...little man. Tell me...did you win yours or is that unrelated to why you are here now?"

Sora quickly started up before Kamina could process the insult.

"UM! ...Well, I am Keyblade master. I've traveled to many worlds and faced a ton of different enemies. Titans, Dragons, Gods, Genies, Heartless, Nobodies, and...a One-Winged Angel. Aaaaand...I saved a stuffed animal from a children's book once. Um...that's about it, I think."

Sora was never very fond of talking about himself in great detail when it came to his accomplishments. It always felt like he was bragging. Esdeath wouldn't stop staring at him. He wished she would stop, but he wasn't going to bring it up with her; let alone even make eye contact. Kamina was trying to wrap his mind around Sora's...interesting resume but he gave up trying to make sense of it pretty quickly as he made a declaration.

"Alright! Now we just VOTE for who we want to be leader. I vote for ME!"

Both Esdeath and Sora rolled their eyes almost in sync...which made Sora uncomfortable. But it was his turn. He wanted to vote for Kamina, but wasn't sure how Esdeath would take it. Why was so he worried about her? He was already dead. What more could she do to him? ...Let's not think about that, actually.

"Um...I vote for myself."

He figured he'd play it safe. But if everyone was gonna vote for themselves, then this was gonna be a looong meeting. It was up to Esdeath now.

"...I vote for Sora."

Her vote caught both of the guys off guard. She said it so confidently. No second guessing. No doubt in her choice as she rested her cheek on her fist with a smile. Sora couldn't respond. But Kamina sure as hell had something to say.

"WHAT?! You can't do that!"

Esdeath's eyes widen as she displays her first feeling of genuine confusion. The look almost felt alien on her face to Sora. But it was the first time he saw her express something that didn't make him cower or cringe.

"I can't? Really? I'm sorry...I thought this was how a Democracy worked. I'm from an Empire, so I'm not familiar with the concept of Freedom of Choice. Should I vote for myself? That seems like nothing will get accomplished then. Is THAT how Democracy works?"

Sora found her ignorance and naivety on the subject strangely cute before he quickly smothered the thought from his mind. Although, if she behaved like this more often; he might not be so overwhelmed by her presence all the time. Hell, she might even be approachable at some point. Perhaps teaching her new things would be the best way to go about making her more...friendly. He certainly didn't want to be the one learning "People skills" from HER.

"No, Esdeath. Your vote was fair. But are you sure about it? You want to make ME the leader?"

"Of course. You're experienced with traveling and navigating in a similar environment to our current one."

"But that would just make me the navigator. Why do you REALLY want me to be leader?"

"...Because you meet all my criteria. Just like Tatsumi..."

"What does that mean?"

"I mean...my criteria for...a great soldier. If you are the one to lead us; I know we will make it to our goal."

Sora got that weird vibe from her again. Not a hostile one, but it didn't make him feel at ease either. Was he the only one getting these vibes from her? He liked to think Kamina was getting them too, he was just better at hiding whether or not it bothered him. A familiar angelic voice interrupted the three of them.

"Oh. So you've decided on a leader already? Most Familias wait until all FIVE members are accounted for before deciding on a leader. But I guess this makes integrating new members easier if you already have a hierarchy."

It was Pit. He returned just as he promised. Sora took what comfort he could in that.

"Pit! You're back!"

"Yup. Looks like you're all starting to get along. I thought I'd deliver a new Spirit to you."

Esdeath ignores Pit and looks behind him to notice a small child riding on one of the DRDs like a cat on a roomba.

"What is THAT?"

"That is your new Familiia. Hey! Stop playing with it! It's busy working."

The child sprints over as group takes in his features. He was small. Half of Sora's height. He wore an oversized dark coat reaching down to his shins with sleeves that went way past his hands, as well as a long dark blue scarf, he had dark blue hair and a pair of luminous yellow feline eyes, along with a hat that seemed to be shaped around his cat ears. Sora has been getting a lot of feelings from people lately. Perhaps it was the intuition of his "other selves" that provided the perspective. But this feeling he got from this kid was completely contradictory to his expression of a friendly smile. It was a feeling a crippling loss, howling loneliness, a deep fear of the unknown hiding behind that cute cat-like grin. It was like the kid had Oneshot...and he blew it,

"Hello. My name is Niko. It's nice to meet you all."

Back on the other Leviathan; which has been given the name, Talon. Ori explores his new home alongside his Familia member that Pit left him. A huge, muscular man with no shirt, no shoes and no arms...well, no arms that weren't made of gold. He had pure white spiky hair and glowing white eyes. His whole body was covered in strange carvings that resembled tattoos but were clearly indented into his flesh like cracks in a tile floor. Every step he took was like a mountain crumbling in the distance. His walk breathed anger and a desire for vengeance that was unmatched in all the multiverse. In a word; he was WRATH. Wrath incarnate. Even his voice exudes power and an anger boiling just underneath the surface.

"...You said your name was Ori?"

"Yes. And you are...?"

The tiny white creature had the opposite voice. So soft and calm. Like the whispers on the wind. The two of them shared only one thing in common: A tattoo of three looping fireballs. Ori didn't have to wait long for the large man's response.

"...Asura...is my name."

 ***Things should be a bit more interesting with someone like Niko around. I wonder if he can channel his meta-powers to-  
(Niko:) "That Kingdom Hearts 3 gameplay is looking CLEAN" ...Yes it is, Niko. Yes it IS.***


	4. Lie to me

In the infinite expanses of the ethereal space between the floating islands of Zindan, only one creature can make travel the Etherion and reach impossible speeds the the power of Starburst. The Leviathans. Ancient peaceful space travelers that would act as arks in the days before space technology for those who desired or needed transport. Of these nearly forgotten beasts; one was more well traveled than any. No Leviathan had traveled half as far or seen half as many worlds, or carried half as many people as her in their 10,000 year lifespan. Moya was that Leviathan and the reason she was here in Zindan was simply because...that lifespan had reached its end.

All this information came pouring into Kamina's head while Sora was chasing down Esdeath earlier. He didn't know how or why, but he had an idea on WHERE it came from. But why would Moya choose to share this information with Kamina and not the others? Then again; who's to say she DIDN'T? But whenever Kamina tried to bring it up; the DRDs would give him a small shock to his ankle. Why did she want to keep this a secret from them? Why tell Kamina of all people? He didn't like it. "A man doesn't keep secrets from his friends!" He thought to himself. At least Sora should be trustworthy. Maybe he would try to get Sora alone to tell JUST him.

The newest member of the Familia was staring at Kamina a lot. Those gigantic yellow eyes felt like they were prodding him for information without the kid having to say anything.

"This frickin cat is pissing me off!"

Sora covers Niko's large ears.

"Hey! Watch your language in front of the kid, Kamina! Even Esdeath has been doing her best to be appropriate for him."

She chimes in.

"My BEST...isn't the word I'd use. I'm NOT changing my clothes and I'm NOT covering up. End of discussion. What's your problem with Niko anyway, Kamina? I'm supposed to be the one who gives newcomers a hard time."

"I don't like his eyes."

"That's it? Even I'M not that judgemental. I think he's cute..."

Sora pulls Niko behind him and hugs him tighter.

"Esdeath. NO. Bad."

"I mean in pet-like kinda way. What were YOU thinking I meant? Don't be a bad influence on the poor thing."

"ME?! Excuse me?! Hello, Kettle. I'm the Pot!"

"Is that a euphemism for calling me HOT? Are you hitting on me, Sora?"

She teases with a smirk as Sora gets all flustered. He starts babbling incomprehensibly in his defense.

"I...you...UHG! You suck!"

"Only if you ask nicely. Heh."

"..."

It took a moment for Sora and Kamina to get her joke. Kamina laughed hysterically once he figured it out. Sora...not so much.

"HAHAHA! You know, what?! I take back everything I said about you, Esdeath! You're alright by me!"

"I appreciate that."

Sora groans and mumbles to himself. Why did they have to make these jokes as soon as a little kid showed up. He finally takes his hands off Niko's ears who was waiting patiently.

"Hey. Sorry about all this. I wasn't expecting to be the most MATURE ONE HERE."

The last part he said louder as he turned towards the others then back to Niko.

"But we're not so bad. I look forward to getting to know you. And don't worry; I'll protect y-"

"Can I ask you something?"

He didn't even wait for Sora to finish his sentence before he asked a question. It a slight urgency, so Sora figured it was important enough that it should take priority.

"Uh...sure?"

"...How did you all die?"

"..."

Everyone was silent for a while. They weren't expecting such a serious and blunt question from this kid. But of course; lacking any subtlety and gentleness; Esdeath answered first.

"I was killed by an assassin named, Akame with a poison blade and passed on in the embrace of my dead love."

Kamina didn't like to keep secrets and this kid looked like he wasn't going to let him keep them for very long anyway. So he went next.

"I...was killed in battle by one of the Spiral King's generals and passed in my Gurren after landing one final blow with my bro, Simon."

Then they all looked at Sora who was thinking really hard. He was trying desperately to remember. But...nothing. It's like he was trying to paint a picture of something he'd never seen. It felt like he wasn't even present for his own funeral. It was the strangest feeling of confusion he'd ever felt. Niko broke through the funk Sora was in with his words of assurance.

"You don't remember? Well, don't worry. I'm sure you'll remember eventually. As for me...I broke the Sun. I was trying to save the world and bring the Sun back to the Tower, but when I got to the top I just...I just...my friend LIED to me."

A powerful presence is felt by Sora. It wasn't like Esdeath's malicious one, but it didn't feel friendly. It also didn't feel like it came from Niko himself, but rather from...around him. Like the presence was WITH him and it spoke to him in a voice that made no sound. Sora could tell by looking at Esdeath and even Kamina; that they heard it too. It said the same thing. [NIKO...IS...UPSET ] Sora spotted the faintest glimpse of concern in Esdeath's face as Kamina couldn't even comprehend what just happened.

"That other guy was a liar too."

"Hmm? What other guy?"

"When I came into THIS world...I wasn't in Moya like the rest of you. I was drifting in the Etherion and when I woke up; this guy took me in and told me about Zindan. Pit came to get me not long after, but that guy made sure he was gone before Pit showed up."

"What did this guy look like?"

"He was about your height, Sora. He had purple hair and eyes, wore an all white uniform with straps on his arms and legs, and he wore a checkered bandana around his neck. Actually, he kind acted like you too, Sora. But I got the feeling it was just that. Acting."

Sora looked back and forth between the others for any clues but they both shook their heads.

"Did he say anything else?"

"He said a lot of things. But the last thing he said was stuff about how he was called the Ultimate Supreme Leader...but he was also a liar and I shouldn't trust him. Gozet said I shouldn't worry about it."

They nod in agreement before they suddenly realize.

"WAIT?! You talked to Gozet?! How?!"

"Uh...I just close my eyes and focus. It's how I talk to God all the time."

Kamina tries to do the same thing in the background, but the others ignore him. Esdeath continues the questions.

"You've talked to Gozet BEFORE coming here?"

"No. Another God. It's complicated."

"Well, what did Gozet tell you?"

"Not much. His true name, when Pit was coming to get me, some stuff about Leviathans..."

Kamina opened one of his eyes for a moment but went back to concentrating shortly after.

"...and about our Familia's last member."

Now Kamina was fully paying attention as the other two leaned in.

"Who is it?"

"Well, he didn't say her name. But he did say that she was an angel like Pit."

Kamina pumps his fist up in victory.

"YES! A woman! A REAL woman!"

Both Sora and Niko looked at Kamina with pitiful eyes. As if to say: "Rest in Peace, friend." Kamina quickly looked over to Esdeath who was wearing a fake smile as you could see the veins in her forehead.

"Uh...well, what I meant was..."

She pinched his lips closed with two fingers as she got very close to his face.

"How would you like to be tortured? Boiled in oil, drawn and quartered, or sat on a pike with no clothes on? I don't know what woman let you get away with this kind of talk, but I assure you...it will not happen at MY expense EVER AGAIN. Are we clear?"

He nods his rapidly since he can't open his mouth.

"Wonderful. Because next time it will be your head. And I DON'T mean the head on your shoulders."

She releases him. As a sickening look of dread overshadows his face.

Niko timidly speaks up.

"A-anyway; he said that she would be here soon and that was when I was away, so it should be any minute now."

Sora claps his hands together.

"Well? What are we waiting for? Let's go back to the room with machine thing so we'll be there to welcome her."

"Yeah! I don't know where that room is though. I didn't spawn in there like the rest of you."

Sora picks up Niko and gives him a piggyback ride as he runs down the hall playfully. Kamina tries to follow them, is stopped by Esdeath's hand on his shoulder. He instinctively covered his privates on reflex.

"W-what?! What did I do now?!"

She looks at him very seriously.

"...Sora trusts you more than me."

"I'm...sorry?"

"Don't betray that trust by keeping secrets. If you build up his trust only to...drill a hole in it. It will backfire in the WORST of ways."

"...Is that a threat too?"

"No. It's a...promise. I hear Sora likes making those a lot. I plan to have him make one with me in time. But I DON'T plan on you ruining his beliefs or tainting his purity...that's MY quest."

"My friends are nobodies tools, ya hear me?! You can threaten ME all you like; but you don't touch him. Period. If you do...you'll regret it. That's MY promise to YOU."

Esdeath gets a slight chuckle out of that.

"Hmph. You've got bluster to spare when it counts. Then we both have promises to keep and this time...death won't allow us to escape."

She struts out of the room, leaving Kamina alone. But not completely alone.

"Did you get all that, Moya? You were right to suspect her of foul play. But it's...uh...a different kind of foul. Crazy bitch. Don't worry, I won't tell HER. That's for sure. But I gotta let Sora know."

... _Niko...too…  
_  
"Are you sure? Something about that kid is...off."

…

"Fine. If you say so. But I'm waiting until that new angel arrives. Who knows; she might be trustworthy too...I hope."

 ***Niko is certainly going to be an** **interesting** **one for me to write because of the "Meta-ness" of his source material and [The Entity]. Kamina and Moya have formed a secret connection. Esdeath has her own plans and Niko seems to be harboring some resentment towards the world as well as some** **septicemic** **thanks to "Mr. Ultimate Liar".***


	5. Break the Ice

Pit wasn't used to having an audience during the process of pulling a Spirit out of Nihilism. But Sora insisted that everyone be together to welcome the final member of their Famila and Pit didn't really have a good reason to say no. Pit wanted to comment on Niko being on Sora's shoulders and wondered if Sora noticed Niko was licking Sora's hair like a grooming cat. Esdeath and Kamina kept everyone waiting as they finally walked in and neither one of them said a word. Pit figured now was as good a time as any.

"Alright. The gang's all here. I'm gonna pull her out now."

Pit reaches into the device as Sora addresses everyone else.

"Smiles, everyone!"

Everyone put on their friendliest smile. Although, Esdeath's smile just made everyone else shudder.

"...On second thought...Esdeath...you just try not to make eye contact."

"What? I'm smiling. What's wrong with it?"

Niko was too new to understand that it was a question which should NOT have been answered.

"It's kinda creepy and doesn't look friendly at all."

Sora and Kamina were prepared to defend Niko from the wrath of the storm. But it never came. Instead she remained silent for a bit then spoke softly to Niko.

"...I see...I'll...I'll work on it."

If Sora believed she had actual emotions, he would've almost postured that she was actually saddened by that comment. Maybe because it carried more weight coming from someone as honest as Niko rather than Kamina. Either way, she really seemed to take that to heart. Everyone was too absorbed in the bullet Niko somehow dodged to notice Pit had already pulled out the new angel; so he tried to politely inform them that he was done.

"Uh...guys? I'm finished."

They all looked back to inspect their new comrade. She had wings alright. But they were clearly mechanical wings that produced some kind of light feathers. Her whole outfit looked sleek and modern. Brown leggings and sleeves with white gloves, black boots and white breastplate and an orange and combat skirt. She carried a strange staff and a small handgun. Her blonde hair was fashioned in bushy ponytail in the back while the front was combed over one of her blue eyes. She looked older than Kamina but none of them could quite tell beyond that. Sora breathed a sigh of relief as he thought to himself: "Thank Zeus! She looks normal enough."

Kamina looked to be disappointed. No doubt expecting an ACTUAL angel and not some lady in a costume. Niko looked to be satisfied that she looked friendly. But Esdeath. Esdeath was NOT impressed at all. She almost looked INSULTED that this was who they were waiting for. It took everything she had not to voice her disgust. Sora kneeled down to her and stuck out his hand to help her onto her feet. She was still lucid from the sudden change in both her environment and mental state; she needed a few moments to adjust before Sora spoke to her.

"Hi there. How are you feeling? My name is Sora."

"S-Sora? Ugh...I feel...so strange. I think I need to see a doctor...wait...that's ME."

Sora took noted how cute her accent was and smiled even bigger at her as she finally started to take in his face. They stared at each other for just a moment before Esdeath barged through with the subtlety of a freight train and helped Sora pull her up already and started asking some questions.

"Do you have a name, Valkyrie? Are you a warrior where you're from? How did YOU die? And last question: How old are you exactly?"

Asking the hard hitting questions as always. The poor woman looked at her like she just asked her to blow up a puppy with a rocket launcher. Sora obviously stepped in to make Esdeath ease up.

"Hey! Cut it out! Don't overwhelm her! She JUST got here."

Nevertheless, the angelic blonde did her best to pick out questions that made sense to her and tried to remember the answers. Even the simplest things were a challenge right now, but this kid was sticking up for her. She had to make sure his efforts weren't wasted.

"M-Mercy. My name is Mercy...I think. And I'm 37...probably. I'm sorry. My mind is a haze. The clearest thing I remember is...looking down the receiving end of Widowmaker's sniper. Then...I heard a loud ringing in my ear and felt a skull-splitting headache for a fraction of second. Then NOTHING."

Sora locks eyes with Pit and in that moment he realized that whatever happened to him; it wasn't like what happened to Mercy. She had memories of the incident. Vague memories, but memories nonetheless. Sora did not. So at the very least he can cross an event like that off the list of his possible fates. Pit took advantage of the opportunity Sora was giving him and nodded before he left the room to get back to work. Moving right along; Esdeath wasn't in the mood for giving her a moment to mourn...herself.

"That answers all but my question on whether or not you are a warrior."

Sora scolded Esdeath for her bluntness but quickly revoked it once it looked like she was enjoying it. Mercy understood Esdeath holding a healthy amount of skepticism towards her and answered the question.

"No. I prefer to avoid combat entirely if possible. I'm a doctor. I heal the sick and injured on the battlefield and in times of crisis or catastrophe. This staff is to help me do so."

Kamina interjected as he was clearly confused.

"Then why do you carry a gun? Plus, who the hell AVOIDS fighting? A real man LIVES for the field of battle."

"...But...I'm a woman. Also, I'm pretty sure a real man DIES on the field of battle without someone like me there."

Esdeath let out the smallest laugh at that. Esdeath? Laughing? Sora thought those two things should not go together. And if they did...something was very wrong. But Kamina didn't even register the stab at his ideals.

"Ah...fair enough. I'm sure you do great work on the battlefield."

She had a look of grimace on her face as she shrugged.

"As much as I can."

"Ha! I'll bet all the men line up to get what you give 'em! They always walk away feeling great!"

Mercy blushed profusely at Kamina's unintentional dirty joke as Sora groaned at his inability to cover Niko's ears in time.

"Don't say it like that! Think before you speak, Kamina! Come on!"

Sora could tell that Esdeath got a kick out of those last two words Sora just said. She opened her mouth. Whatever she was going to say it was about to be 10 times worse than what Kamina. He needed an emergency safety measure, stat! So, he swiftly covered her mouth with his hand.

"Phew. That was close. Mercy. Why don't you and Niko go get something to eat?"  
"Okay. But...I don't know where the kitchen is on this ship."

"Kamina. You've been here the longest. Surely, you know where something that resembles a kitchen is."

"Huh? Who the hell do you think I-"

"Do you know or not?!"

"...Yeah. Fine. Whatever. This way, angel lady."

Kamina led them out of the room as Niko held Mercy's hand. Sora needed a moment to talk privately with Esdeath and ALREADY it was not going well as his hand was still over her mouth and he felt her lick his palm.

"Gah! Hey!"

"Ooo. That was an interesting noise you just made. I wonder what other noises I can get you to make for me."

"Okay. First of all. We need to set up some boundaries."

The playful smile on Esdeath faded.

"...Alright. I will humor you."

Not the answer he was hoping for but better than he thought.

"Number one. No inappropriate touching."

"Define inappropriate."

"...Don't start with me. You KNOW what I mean. Number two. I won't ask you to suddenly turn into a saint, but please keep your vulgar language to a minimum."

"Do you like girls with a...tamed tongue?"

He realized that rule will probably be the hardest to work around.

"And number three. I. Will. NOT. Kiss. You. So stop staring at my lips."

Sora felt a brief surge in her demonic aura, but it was quickly subdued. He swallowed a lump in his throat as he tried to remain firm on the subject.

"...But what if you need CPR?"

She tried to remain calm and composed as she joked around. But the answer she got only made her facade all the more difficult to maintain.

"Then get Mercy to do it. She's a doctor after all."

Esdeath grinded her teeth together as her murderous intent was now fully on display. Sora realized his mistake too late.

"I see...so...is that what you prefer? An older woman? I'm 23, you know? I'm still older than you. Or is it her motherly presence? You want a woman who will take care of you? You can rest your head in my bosom if you like. Whatever she has, I assure you; I can do it better!"

Sora knew she was interested in him but...she's coming on a little strong. He shuddered to think what kind of excuse she'd make up if he told her that he thought Mercy's accent was cute. Was she really jealous or does she get like this around women who make her feel inferior in some way? If it was the later, he couldn't make heads or tails on what she had to feel inferior over. Sora needed to end this before it spirals out of control any further. He was starting to get nervous, but now was no time to lose his nerve.

"W-why do you care so much?! You said you had some guy named Tatsumi, right? He died too, so why don't you...hold out for him?"

In a flash, she grabs Sora by the neck. And for a moment Sora considered what it would be like to die a second time.

"...Because that girl stole him from me! My charm was WEAK! It wasn't strong enough to gain his love! I won't make that mistake again! I wanted to know what love felt like, but instead all I got was rejection, pain, and betrayal! Just like...everyone else."

As he dangled in the air from her grasp, he started to understand her a bit more. He couldn't begin to imagine what kind of life she lived or how she was raised up, but he could at least sympathise with a love lost. Although he wasn't sure how. He just kept getting flashes of a girl with short black hair in a black coat. He tried to calm her down while trying his best not to pass out from being strangled.

"You...don't have to...push yourself so much. If you force it...then it's not love. Love is supposed to be...fun...for BOTH parties. I can't say that I love you...but...can we...start out as...friends...maybe?"

Esdeath thought hard about it. She wasn't ready to give up on love, but Sora was giving her an inch to move and it was more that what Tatsumi did. But as she pondered, her grip didn't loosen. Sora was starting to think she forgot she was choking him. Sora was running out of air. He'll try a compromise.

"I'll...lighten up...on...the rules a bit...too."

His sentence sputtered out in pieces. Esdeath relented. He was giving her a chance. Not much of one, but a chance. Releasing her grip; Sora dropped to the floor on his knees as he gasped and coughed. Esdeath kneeled down to his level.

"We'll do it your way. Friends first. Then we'll see where it goes from there. Now...may I...hug you?"

Sora's eyes widened. She actually asked for permission and for something as modest as a hug. Was it really as simple as "friends first"? He was taken aback by her sudden polite demeanor, but wondered how long it would last or if was only just when she wanted something from him. Either way; progress is progress and Sora would take what he could get when it came to someone like her.

"Y-yes?"

She leaned in and draped her arms over his shoulders for a hug. Sora was surprised how gentle she could be for a psychopathic sadist. Her cold exterior gave him goosebumps. Esdeath felt something she had expected to feel from him, but was still pleasantly surprised by this new feeling. Warmth.

 ***Reminder: Entries for a character of your choice are still open. So far, there's only one entry...so not much of a selection for me***


	6. Zero Tolerance

In the Etherion nearby a small floating prism; the Leviathan known as Talon in distress. Not from an attack. At least not one directed AT him, but one taking place inside him. The conflict started because the newest member of Ori and Asura's Familia wanted to pick a fight to find out who's the strongest. Specifically against Asura. He however didn't seem all that eager to fight as he just stood there taking all of her aggression and hardly even reacting. An occasional twitch of his head in response to getting kicked, the mere flexing of his pectoral muscles deflecting her sword swings and not budging an inch from his spot. Needless to say, it was not going well for the newcomer. But still she persisted.

"Are you about finished?"

Asura stated in between her stikes as he was becoming more and more annoyed. The woman huffed and in exhaustion after using Asura as a punching bag for about an hour. Dropping to one knee with her sword dug into the ground, she tried to catch her breath. Ori took this as a sign that she had given up and that it was safe to approach.

Now that she finally stopped moving around so much, Ori could get a good look at her. When she was fighting it mostly felt like he was watching a white blur move across the halls, but now that she was still he could make out her features. She wore an elegant short dress with exposed midriff, cleavage, thighs, and her right shoulder. A long cape draped over left shoulder. She had knee high leggings with high heels and her entire pale attire was detailed periodically with black lining as well as black tassels hanging from her waist and a black fur band around her right forearm. Underneath that cape Ori swear he spotted what looked like a prosthetic arm which was all black, of course. Her long white hair almost covered her right eye that he assumed were BOTH a reddish pink color if it weren't for the bright flower coming out of it.

"You came out of that...Nihilism-thing swinging. I'd be a little more scared if I wasn't so impressed by how quickly you recovered. That was almost instant."

Ori tried to break the tension with compliments, but they seemed to fall on deaf ears. This woman clearly outmatched. Like a canoe trying to ram a battleship; it was a fight that was clear to everyone that she could not win. This reality only served to piss her off. She thought to herself: "What the hell is this guy made of?!" Asura seemed to recognize and respect her anger, if nothing else.

"Your attacks are too half-assed. You merely use your anger guide your blade. I use it to guide my very soul. Come back in 12,000 years when you've mastered TRUE rage."

The woman calms down despite his goading. Not wanting to sink to his level; she regains her composure and criticizes him.

"...You aren't THAT strong. Anyway, don't think this means you've won or that you get to be leader here."

She spoke firmly and confidently. In fact, all of her mannerisms accentuated her confidence and bossy attitude. If Ori could describe her in one word for her appearance, personality AND voice, it would be...LOUD. This Familia was not exactly hitting it off, but they didn't have time kiss and make up.

"We've spent so much time letting you...vent your frustrations on Asura that we missed the welcoming of our next member. Pit should have already pulled them out and explained some things to them by now."

The woman scoffed at Ori's impatience as she reluctantly followed them back to the room while the DRDs start repairing some of the damage to Talon's innards. One of them made a noise that sounded like blowing a raspberry at her. As they walked back and Ori lightly jogged in order to keep up with his larger comrades; he realized something.

"...Oh! I almost forgot. What's your name, Ma'am?"

"Don't ever call me Ma'am. I am an Intoner and my name is Zero."

"Ah. Well, nice to meet-"

Ori cut himself off as they opened the door to the room only to find Pit, alone and unconscious.

"P-Pit!"

Ori ran up to the angel and used his light to restore him. Pit slowly started to regain himself as he came around.

"Pit. What happened? Who did this to you?"

"...How? He disappeared. How is he back?"

"Pit?"

"His name is Kokichi. And he is bad news. His Familia rejected him. EVERY Familia we put him with rejected him because he was untrustworthy and a liar."

"Why is he on Talon?"

"That, I don't know. Nor can I tell you how he managed to evade me for so long that I though he drifted off into the Etherion OR what his plan is. But I can tell you...he took her."

Asura stepped forward.

"Took her? You mean our new member?"

"...Yes. I'm sorry. I can't stick around to explain. I have to report this to the Lotus right away!"

Zero crossed her arms and looked down her nose at all of them.

"Hmph. Already losing track of people? So, disorganized. This would never have happened if you had yielded to me sooner, Asura."

"I don't recall yielding to you AT ALL."

As the two of them bickered; for a brief moment, Ori's voice suddenly overshadowed both of them.

"SHUT UP! ...This is serious. One of our members has been kidnapped! What do we do in the meantime?"

Pit stood up and summoned his exit portal.

"...Stand by. Other Familia's won't find out your missing one if you go about business as usual. Assuming you even meet other Familias. Your final member will have to be put on hold while I work on a rescue operation. Gozet can NOT find out about this! Hopefully, Natah has been keeping her ear to the ground and can provide me with assistance...covertly."

Asura nodded as he relinquished the responsibility to the angel. Zero nonchalantly left the room without a care in the world. Ori however did not like the idea of leaving this matter to others, but what choice did he have. None of had figured out how to even communicate with Talon; let alone pilot him. But then...how did this Kokichi person even get here without a Leviathan. Surely, Talon would've done something that tipped them off if another Leviathan was approaching.

"Alright. I'm off. Keep your spirits up, Spirits..."

His attempt at a joke to provide levity did little in that regard. Ori waved him off.

"...Good luck."

Back on Moya in the mess hall; Mercy was trying desperately to make sense of the kitchen and what exactly was food and what wasn't. It all looked alien, yet familiar at the same time. She turned to look at Niko sitting excitedly at the table and Kamina with kicking his feet up as he leaned back somehow in a chair that was attached to the floor.

"Kamina!"

"W-What?!"

"...Feet off the table. Unless you want them to get served up with your meal."

Niko giggles as he cringes from the thought of eating feet. Kamina does as he's told without question. He felt in inclined to listen to her despite the fact that he never let anyone tell him what to do. But for some reason, he was embarrassed that he got caught. She let Kamina off with a warning as she returned to cook mode.

"...Now. What would you boys like to eat?"

Niko's eyes widened and his pupils became enlarged as drool started to drip from his mouth.

"...Pancakes!"

Kamina paused for a bit, still trying to shake off that weird feeling but also a little creeped out by Niko's enthusiasm.

"Uh...what he said! Oh! And some Pig-Mole steaks!"

"Alright. Coming right up...I hope."

Moya automatically lit up certain areas of the kitchen as Mercy started to make sense of things. Mercy appreciated the help, but was a little weirded out by the fact that the kitchen was teaching her how to use itself. She adjusted soon enough though. After she got comfortable, she bagan to make idle chit-chat with the boys.

"So, now that we're a full Familia...what do we do now?"

Kamina answered immediately as if she would reward him with more steak for speedy answers.

"No idea! But hell; it should be fun either way!"

"Watch you language in front of Niko!"

"Y-yes ma'am!"

He snapped to attention without even realizing it. She wasn't even that intimidating. How was she doing this? But the more he looked at her and considered how she looked at them in turn; he started to piece it together. He thought: "Is this what it's like to have a mother?" Kamina remembered his father fondly and with great reverence. But he never had nor understood the purpose of a mother. Niko seemed to be treating her with the same respect as well. Maybe she just had that kind of nature to her that made it easy to look at her that way. He muttered to himself.

"Might be nice to play house...for a while at least."

"Hmm? Speak up, Kamina. Did you want something on your steak?"

"Ah...no thanks! I'm good! Hey...you know...Moya seems to like you a lot."

"Really? She doesn't do stuff like this for ALL of you?"

"Well...Nevermind."

"Huh...Oh. Niko, how many pancakes do you want?"

"A dozen! No...a FIVE DOZEN!"

"Sweetie, you're gonna turn into Roadhog if you eat like that!"

Niko tilted his head.

"Roadhog?"

Kamina raised an eyebrow.

"Sweetie?"

Mercy lightly blushed as she laughed it off.

"...Sorry. Maybe I'm getting a little TOO comfortable. What's taking Sora and Esdeath so long?"

Kamina wondered the same thing.

"Eh...probably making out."

"W-what?!"

"Or killing each other. Hard to say when it comes to Esdeath."

"You...you ARE joking, right? What kind of person is she?"

"There's your answer right there. She ISN'T a person. She's a monster."

"And you just left her ALONE with that poor boy?!"

Kamina chuckled to himself as Mercy looked confused by his attitude.

"Heh. Because he's a MONSTER in his own way. He'll be fine."

"...I...see."

She whispered to herself.

" _Heiliger Strohsack._ I trade up one team of freaks for another."

"What was that?"

She quickly readjusted her tone.

" _Nichts._ Its fine."

 ***Now we got Zero from Drakengard 3 and confirmation of Kokichi from Danganronpa V3. I've decided to change the rules for choosing your character thing. The fact that they have to be dead to be in the story is a moot point so I'm removing it. Just pick your favorite character, living or not.***


	7. Divine Purpose

*Takes place during Niko's time with Kokichi*  
Niko wanders the endless halls of a black corridor looking for the boy who seems to have abandoned him until he hears a voice. It wasn't Kokichi. It wasn't a voice he recognized, but the way it presented itself was familiar.

" _Greetings, my child."_

"Huh? Who's there?"

" _It is I...the great Gozetmek. But you may call me Gozet. It is my understanding that you possess a gift which allows you to communicate directly with Gods. Evidently, that understanding has been proven true."_

"Nice to meet you, Gozet. My name is Niko. Did you just want to talk?"

" _Yes, my child. Do not fear me. I'm embarrassed to say...the reason you are so confused...the reason you are not where you should be...is due to the actions of another beyond my control."_

"You mean...that guy?"

" _No. Kokichi does not possess such power. However, he has proven to be beyond my control in a way I did not anticipate. You cannot trust him."_

"Well, he DID say he was a liar."

The voice chuckled a bit as Niko was put at ease.

" _Indeed. My servant will arrive soon to retrieve you and bring you to your proper place. In the meantime...do you have any questions?"_

Niko thought long and hard about what to ask THIS God. He didn't seem to be as eager to get to know Niko so he figured he would keep the questions less personal and more professional this time.

"...I'm dead, aren't I?"

" _...Indeed."_

Niko was expecting more, but honestly didn't want to dwell on the subject for too long. He got a straight answer and that was good enough.

"Is everyone else in this world dead too?"

" _Not EVERYONE. There is one individual who is well and truly alive...hiding. But obviously, she is not part of any Familia. But she is not threat to anyone, so you needn't fear."_

Perhaps it was his time listening to Kokichi, but Niko couldn't help but doubt the conviction in that statement. Maybe Gozet didn't want to admit how little he actually knew about this woman.

"These Familias. That guy talked about them, but I don't know how much of it was half truths or whatever. How many Familias are there?"

" _There are currently FOUR in your sector of Zindan. They are all incomplete right now, but they are gaining in strength and numbers. You need not concern yourself with those outside of this sector. Your mark shows to which Familia you belong to."_

Niko pulled on the collar of his coat and looked at the blue crown shaped tattoo on his chest.

" _You Familia is known as Royal Blue. There is currently another Familia that is close to yours...both in strength and in indoctrinated members known as Pure White. There are two other Familias that are in their early stages of development."_

Four Familias. He hoped that his would be nice.

"That guy told me that this was a game. A...Killing Game. Do we have to...fight the other Familias?"

" _You do not HAVE to do anything. You are ALLOWED to fight each other...or you can ignore each other. Horde information or share it freely. Build up alliances or tear down any who stand in your way. How you conduct your business with other Familias makes no difference to me. However...in the end….only ONE Familia will be permitted into Nirvana when they find it."_

"But...that means alliances are pointless!"

" _Perhaps...but others might think differently."_

"Wait...so we CAN kill each other? But I thought we were already dead."

" _If Nirvana is the end goal...then Hell is the losers corner. You ARE already dead. Killing you again will simply seal your fate to eternal damnation regardless of how blightless you might be...failure in MY world will be met with ultimate punishment."_

"...Ultimate...Punishment?"

Niko's heart just sank as he spoke the words aloud. Kokichi was nearby and heard Niko talking to himself as he heard those words. He heard those two words more than enough in his lifetime. He would have no part in it.

" _Is there anything else you wish to know?"_

"...My Familia. Are they nice?"

"One of them is for sure. But that seems to be getting used against him by another."

Niko turned around suddenly. That voice wasn't Gozet. It came from the angel behind him. He must've been Gozet's servant.

"Sorry for scaring you? Who were you talking to?"

"...No one."

"Hmm...but yeah. Those two are something else. In some ways it reminds me of myself and Lady Palutena...and then Esdeath opens her mouth and I immediately lose the comparison."

"Um..."

"Sorry...I guess we're BOTH talking to ourselves a bit today. You wanna come with me? I'll take you to your Familia."

Pit summons his portal and waves Niko over. He hesitates for a moment, but follows anyways. After they leave, Kokichi comes out of the shadows.

"So, the Spirit of Innocence can speak to Gods. Nyehehe. He should be entertaining at least. Hmm...Esdeath? She sounds like fun too. Every Spirit has their Mirror Image. That means one of the other Familias should be getting their own Spirit of Innocence soon. I'll try my luck with THAT one to see if they're more useful to me. I'll just take them."

*Back in present time on Moya*  
Everyone was now enjoying their meal thanks to Mercy. Niko was completely absorbed in his pancakes as he stuffed his cheeks. Kamina was not one to be out done by a cat, but Sora was making it difficult as he claimed that Kamina was stealing his portion of steaks.

"Kamina! You're hogging it all!"

"Don't you mean hog-moling it all?"

"...That's terrible!"

Mercy tugged on Kamina's ear.

"Ow!"

"Kamina. Share. If you wanted more steaks, you should have asked for them. Niko asked for his pancakes. That's why he gets to inhale them."

"...Yes ma'am."

Kamina sighed in defeat as he relinquished the steaks to Sora. Sora began to bite and the steaks and tear them up with his teeth as Mercy smacked him on the head.

"Ow!"

" _Um Himmels Willen,_ Sora! Use a knife! You are not an animal."

"Yesh ma'am."

He spoke with his mouth full as Mercy couldn't hold back her laughter. Sora noticed during all this commotion...Esdeath was quiet. She was sitting right next to him, but didn't make a sound. She barely touched her coffee. She was more focused on her small pocketbook that she was scribbling in.

"Uh...Esdeath?"

"Hmm?"

"What are you drawing?"

"...Oh...Nothing really. Just personal things for myself."

"Oh...Okay."

She leans over to Niko as he swallows his food and shows him her pocketbook.

"Do you think this is a good likeness of Sora?"

Niko looks at her drawing and start choking on his milk as he covers his eyes with flushed cheeks.

"I'm...not allowed to look at that kind of stuff!"

Mercy puts her hands on her hips as she glares at Esdeath who is now hiding her book.

"Esdeath! Did you just taint Niko's innocence with filthy pictures?!"

"...No...Maybe….Probably...Definitely."

"Do I even want to know of what?"

Kamina rats her out under his breath.

"I think we ALL know what it was."

"...Traitor."

Everyone else groans and tries to ignore it as Sora realizes what Kamina just implied.

"Wait...what?! I don't remember consenting to that, Esdeath!"

"Oops...Must've just slipped my mind. It's just a harmless book."

"I met someone who can make books into terrifying weapons!"

"Well, fine. Why don't you look and see for yourself..."

"No way! I don't wanna read your smut! Don't point that at me!"

Esdeath is prominently displaying her drawings before everyone, but no one even so much as glances at them. She begins to bask in their suffering as she thought to herself. "This could be its own form of torture."

"See how I've captured every nuanced curve of my legs here? And how Sora's hand perfectly fits right up-"

"AAGH!"

Everyone shouted at once as they got up from the table and started walking away. Esdeath sits back in her chair and takes the abandoned plates of food from everyone as she sips her coffee and giggles.

"Heh. What a bunch of prudes. I haven't even gotten to the kinky stuff yet."

Sora yells out in the distance.

"Namine never drew stuff like that!"

 ***Four Familias. The other two shall be referred to (for now) as Red and Black. There stories are a ways off but will happen in time. Both of them have only two members right now, consisting of your requested characters and a one of my own choices. That means we have six open slots. Don't be afraid to hit me the obscure ones. It should be obvious by now that I'm a fan of the unorthodox choices***


	8. Dark Sector

Pit was nervous. He always felt uneasy when visiting this woman. Was it because he kept her whereabouts a secret even from the great Gozet? Was it because he wasn't entirely sure if she was trustworthy? Or was it because she was THE exception among the exceptionals? She was NOT a Spirit. But she wasn't exactly Human either. Pit didn't know what she was. The only thing Pit knew for certain was her name. And that wasn't even something she told him, but something Gozet told him.

Despite his reservations; here he was...entering a strange futuristic room down a long rotating hallway. The holes in the walls, floor and ceiling combined with the various lights and energy colors flowing through the air made it feel like he was walking down a kaleidoscope. He reached the end only to be met with a balcony looking out over the endless Etherion. From just beyond the balcony; a ovular object emerges from below and after an elaborate shifting of levitating pieces; the machine transformed into a flower shaped throne that encapsulated her. She certainly has style. He still couldn't believe she built all this herself in the Etherion. But Pit had more pressing questions than architecture.

"Natah..."

"DON'T CALL ME THAT."

Her voice was synthetic and monotonous. Almost robotic but clearly not.

"S-sorry...Lotus. I need your help."

"...I take it that Gozet doesn't know?"

"...You're the only one in Zindan who keeps tabs on the Spirits better than Gozet himself."

"You're lying."

She stands up from her seat to reveal her full form. A tall woman dressed in a skintight dark purple and black suit. The texture of the legs and arms look almost like muscle fibers. Her skin is exposed around the shoulders, fingertips, big toes and center of the chest. Several long tarsals drape around her hips and down to the floor and her face was concealed by a large helmet in the shape of a Lotus flower; leaving everything between her nose and neck a mystery. On the back of her helmet; a series of wires and cords extend and connect to the chair behind her.

"You just don't want Gozet to know you failed. I'm not a charity for angels. If you want to find a lost Spirit, ask your God."

"It's not that I failed...I don't want to cause my master any undue anxiety over Kokichi's meddling."

"That is not my concern. I have my own problems. I have apothics to grow, Forma to craft, Kuva to siphon, and DOZENS of blueprints that need to go back to R&D. My schedule is full."

Pit wasn't even going to pretend he understand what half of that meant. She sat back down as her vessel started to return to its original state.

"Please! ...She's just a little girl!"

She stopped for a moment and turned her head back.

"...A child?"

"Yes. Her name is Lisa. She's confused, she's damaged, and...she's in pain. You were called a Mother once, weren't you?"

Pit was on his knees with his forehead to the floor. The very idea of begging...of groveling before someone was disgraceful. Palutena would be ashamed of him if she saw him now. But when he lifted his head, he saw that she had already turned around, disconnected herself and stepped down from her "Ivory Throne" to kneel down to Pit.

"Do not bow. I am not your beloved Goddess. Nor am I a God that is in any way deserving of such prostration."

Pit did not speak as she place a hand gently on his cheek.

"Consider this my atonement for accepting YOUR kindness."

"I'll keep your whereabouts a secret from Gozet for as long as I can!"

Her hand moves from his cheek to placing a finger over his lips.

"I know you will. So, I will do something for YOU...and for her."

"Thank you, Nat- Ah! I mean...Lotus."

She shrugs her head.

Back on Moya, Kamina and Mercy were putting their heads together to make sense of Moya's controls. Kamina said that they needed to do it alone. Something about: "There are some things a man has to do alone...with a woman." It sounded even worse when Sora thought it to himself, but he knew that's not what he meant it to come off as. So, they gave the two of them some space to work. Niko insisted that he explore the ship on his own. Sora offered to join him but Niko simply replied: "I'm more used to going it alone." and walked off.

Of course this meant that - once again; Sora drew the short stick and was forced to be alone with Esdeath. He tried using his Keyblade as a measuring stick/makeshift restraining order to keep beyond arm's length at ALL TIMES. It looked like he was walking a dog on a leesh with how closely she followed him as he poked and pushed her away. But Sora didn't care much for appearances. THIS was preferably to...whatever she wanted to do. Of that, he was certain.

"Esdeath...I thought we agreed to be friends first. So, why are you so close to me?"

"I'm too close? I thought I was giving you PLENTY of personal space."

Sora couldn't believe she didn't actually know.

"Y-yes! If you were any closer, I'd be WEARING you! ….Wait...don't..."

Too late. She was already fantasizing. He could only kick himself for not watching his wording better as he facepalmed.

"Ugh...Look. I'm...glad? ...Yeah. I'm glad you're...trying to be nice and all. Trying to change your ways; even if it's just a little bit. Buuuuut..."

"I'm NOT going to turn into your perfect ideal overnight."

Sora was surprised to learn that she actually doing her best but also not that surprised at the same time.

"I understand that. And I know I'm already asking a LOT from you...BUT...I need space. When I said I want to be friends; I also want you to try and be friends with the others."

"Do you like a woman who can get along with others?"

"Oh for the love of...THAT. That right there! I want you to stop doing that thing where you take everything I say and go on a long and roundabout way that eventually ends at: Flirt Central."

"...Alright. You want me to stop? Then humor me. I'll take a break from flirting...if YOU flirt back once."

"W-what?!"

"Just once. Then I'll leave you alone for...a week."

"...Are you serious?!"

"Yes. BUT..."

She puts her finger right on his nose.

"...It has to be CONVINCING."

"W-w-what does THAT mean?!"

"It means...I want you to put on your best bedroom eyes and DAZZLE me. If I'm not convinced...then our little game will continue. Deal?"

Sora was already blushing furiously and he hasn't even agreed to it yet.

"F-fine!"

They shake hands and Esdeath puts her hands on her hips as she awaits her "Prince" to turn on the charm with a smug look on her face. Sora was starting to think she KNEW he wouldn't be able to make it convincing and that she only offered up this possible solution because she wanted to watch Sora suffer through trying to come up with a pick-up line for her. Which was taking its sweet time being concocted by Sora.

"...Well? I'm waiting to SWOON for you."

"Give me a minute! I'm thinking!"

Sora was too annoyed and flustered to come up with anything. So...against his better judgment - he'd ask his heart. He closed his eyes and searched deep inside to find an answer that would work as Esdeath began to tap her foot impatiently. After a bit of silence, Sora suddenly got a devilish smirk on his face. Esdeath took his unusual face as a sign that he got something.

"Alright...Let's hear it. Give me your best shot."

He spoke in a deeper tone. A tone he'd never used before as his blue eyes took on a tinge of yellow.

"I'll give you something, Babe. But if you want my BEST, you're gonna hafta do your WORST."

Speechless. It was like he was a totally different person. His smile, his eyes, his mannerisms, his tone. It caught her completely off guard.

"...P-Pardon?"

"What's wrong? Too much for ya, Sugar? Or were you expecting some weak sh*t? If you want me to be weak...you're gonna hafta wrestle me down for that."

In a rare moment for the ages; Esdeath's face was flushed bright red as her eyes shot wide open. She quickly covered her face and turned away as she waved her other hand back and forth. She yielded.

"Alright, alright! You win! That was MORE than enough!"

"Are you suuuure?"

"If I hear much more, I'm going to have to excuse myself to the ladies room for an emergency! Can I have Sora back, please?!"

"...That idiot doesn't know how good he's got it with you."

"...What?"

"Whatever. Fine. But you're REALLY missing out!"

After confusing Esdeath, he closed his eyes and opened them again. When he did, it was like Sora got his hands back on the steering wheel after falling asleep in the driver's seat.

"Woah. What? Did I...say something cool?"

Sora noticed Esdeath's face and wondered what he actually said.

"...Don't ever do that again!"

"W-what? Why? What happened?"

"I'm having a hard enough time RESTRAINING myself around you as it is. Whatever THAT was...is going to make it damn near impossible! But...A deal's a deal. ONE week. Now if you'll excuse me...I have to change my clothes."

She made a B-line for her room and for the first time since they met...Esdeath actually left Sora on his own. Sora was dumbfounded by this new development.

"...Seriously! What did I say?!"

 ***Looks like a Dark Memory popped up in Sora's psyche. Now we have the only "living" person in Zindan: The Lotus of Warframe. She is going to bring so much techno jargon with her. (Or should I say TENNO jargon?...sorry) But how is she able to break so many of Gozet's rules? I guess we'll find out...SOON...TM***


	9. Waltz of the Damned

"I found her."

Lotus informed Pit of her success in locating Lisa. Pit was practically hopping up and down, ready to go.

"Where?"

"Mortis. Kokichi took her to Mortis."

"What in the world is Kokichi up to? Is he trying to turn Lisa into a Sith Lord?"

"You need to hurry. If she gets corrupted by the Son...then you may not WANT her back."

"Alright. I'm off."

"Just a moment! Take Harrow with you."

"Huh?"

Pit turns around to see a bio mechanical man-shaped being. It was stylized as what he could only describe as a futuristic inquisition priest with elaborate details all over his body.

"If Lisa has been turned to the dark side; you'll need Harrow's rituals to break the chains."

"Thanks. You ready?"

Pit awaited a response from Harrow, but only got a light nod. Good enough. They went off through the portal and arrived on the other side. A world of ambient light and lifeless plants surrounded them. A tall, bald, young man dressed in a black garb floated down to greet them. His skin was pure white except for the red tattoos forming tears under his eyes. Piercing golden eyes inspected the intruders. The man spoke softly, though it felt like a ruse.

"Ah yes. He said you would come. Welcome...my friends."

A voice seemed to come out of Harrow, but Pit wasn't sure if it was his voice because he couldn't see his face to verify it.

"The Son is a friend to NO ONE but the Darkness. We've come for the girl. Cooperate and we will be out of your...hair in no time."

Ignoring Harrow's jab at his appearance, The Son bowed respectfully.

"As you wish. That boy left her with me to mold her into something more...open-minded. But her soul has already experienced enough torment."

Pit spoke up.

"What do you mean?"

"The Mother...The Lotus sent you - at least, one of you - to break the chains that shackle her heart to the past. But the chains...the chains are the EASY part. It's what goes on in HERE that's hard."

He said with a sorrowful look on his face as he pointed to his head. He moved to the side with a sudden flourish to reveal the girl standing behind him. Pit was ecstatic to find her unharmed by The Son or Kokichi.

"Lisa! You're alright! Come on. Let's get you out of here."

She hesitated quite a bit before she looked at Harrow who was waving and swinging a thurible that emanated some green glowing smoke. After taking a deep breath, she decided to go with the two of them. The Son placed a hand on her shoulder as she walked away and whispered in her ear.

"Beware the Barren Mother. Her womb in the sky is a place that should not exist in this world and should that reality be made clear to her...her Sentient heart shall beat it's last."

She didn't react to his warning as she went through the Portal Pit summoned. Pit almost went in too.

"Harrow? Are you coming?"

"No. Kokichi may still be hiding out here. I will make sure that this does NOT happen again."

"...Alright. Good luck."

"I don't believe in luck."

The Son interjected.

"I think what you meant to say was: May the Force be with you."

Back on Moya, Sora was enjoying his freedom as he was dancing to some music. Esdeath was still relatively close by, but she said nothing to Sora and didn't even acknowledge him. Niko returned from his own adventure to be greeted by this strange sight.

"Uh...What'd I miss?"

"Niko! How's it going? Did you find anything?"

"...Not really. But it looks like you found the radio."

"I'm just celebrating a small victory the only way I know how. With the Partridge Family."

He turns up the volume of the song 'Get Happy' as Niko chuckles a bit but tries to hold it in on the account that he didn't want to upset Esdeath. Niko was actually more surprised than anything about how Sora seemed to be rubbing it in. But then he addressed Esdeath, which caught her off guard.

"Esdeath!"

"Huh...What?!"

"Any requests?!"

"W-what are you..."

"Song requests?!"

"Oh...um...Tainted Love by Soft Cell?"

"Why am I not surprised?"

Sora obliged her request and played the song and bobbed his head to the beat and Esdeath subtly tapped her foot. By the end of the song, all three of them are dancing along as Mercy and Kamina enter the room. Kamina can't contain his laughter as Mercy just looks flabbergasted by the sight.

"What have we stumbled into?"

Niko runs over to Mercy with an excited expression.

"We're dancing! Do you have a request?"

Mercy noticed that Esdeath and Niko traded hats and Kamina lended his glasses to Sora. A party? She certainly wasn't going to say no.

"Hmm…'The Hustle' by Van McCoy."

Mercy showed Sora how to dance to the song while Esdeath and Niko freestyled it. Esdeath grabbed onto Niko's oversized sleeves and swung him around in a spin. Kamina preferred to it back and just watch everyone make complete fools of themselves. Besides, he didn't want them to find out that when it came to dancing; he had two left feet. Sora complimented Mercy as they mirrored each other's motions perfectly.

"Very good, Sora. You're a natural."

"I'm a fast learner. I also know another dance too."

"Really? Show me."

"Uh...well...it's slow dance. I learned it from watching my friends."

"Oh...I see. Then, we need proper music. Kamina! Play something slower!"

He kicks the radio and 'I See the Light' by Mandy Moore starts playing. Sora gets a little nervous.

"Are you sure about this? I've only done this dance once."

"Who did you practice with?"

"My...mom."

"Aww...That's so precious. Now I HAVE to see it."

Sora pulls her in close as he puts one hand around her waist and uses his other to hold hers. She's not quite as tall as Esdeath, but Sora still had to be very careful about where his face was since she had at least five inches over him. But since she was not as...well endowed as Esdeath either; he could get a little bit closer without fear of being overwhelmed. Sora leads during the slow dance.

"Am...I doing alright?"

She giggles a bit.

"Yes. You're doing great. You're keeping eye contact; which is essential. But you could stand to loosen up a bit. Or were you this tense and nervous with your mother as well?"

"S-sorry. I'm not usually like this. It's just...I'm pretty sure that woman ruined me."

"She...ruined you?"

"Ah...not like that! I didn't mean like...Ugh! Now she's got ME doing it!"

"Do you want...to talk about it?"

Those were the magic words. Sora just unloads his frustrations and baggage onto Mercy.

"She NEVER stops with the innuendos, she has no respect for personal space, I'm pretty sure she's in a state of perpetual arousal, and I'm afraid to go to sleep tonight for fear of like...TEN different things she could do to me….and NONE of them involve killing me!"

Mercy just takes it all as Sora realizes he's been ranting at her.

"Sorry...I just..."

"It's fine. You clearly feel very strongly about this...about her."

"Yeah...it's just not the feeling SHE wants me to feel."

"But you do recognize that she does feel that way about you? Genuinely."

"...Maybe so. But there is a right and a wrong way to go about EXPRESSING those feelings."

"But she IS expressing herself. The result may not be...ideal. But that doesn't change what she's trying to do. Her true desire is a pure one...even if she can't find a way to convey it in an appropriate way."

"But she's just soooo….horrible."

Sora hated using that word to describe a person; especially one that was trying to be a friend.

"...You're right. Maybe that's it."

"Huh?"

"You two are complete opposites. But she seems willing to change...if it's for YOU."

"Where are you going with this?"

They stop dancing now as the next song comes on.

"I'm saying: What if you were to use this chance she's presented you to perform some...pseudo therapy. In other words..."

"Don't you dare!"

"I give you my full support. It's for the good of EVERYONE. Not just her. If she becomes a better person or at least easier to talk to...that benefits ALL OF US."

Sora groans in defeat. He couldn't come up with a good reason to say no. As he turns to look at the source of his punishment. Esdeath was dancing with Niko to 'Don't Go Breaking My Heart' by Elton John. He chuckles a bit at them nuzzling noses as he gives Mercy a smile mixed with a look of grimace.

"Are we sure I'm not in Hell yet?"

She pats and rubs his shoulder as she laughs.

 ***I have five spots left for possible characters. I can't tell you who it was. But I can tell you where they're from. Skullgirls. Yes. My version of Sora loves the Partridge Family. Now we've got some Star Wars with The Son and Planet Mortis.***


	10. Echoes Beyond Death

Pit was getting bushwhacked from all of the overwork he's been put under recently, but he still had one more to go Ori's "Pure White" Familia. They were all too busy introducing themselves to Lisa to notice Pit had already gone into the Nihilism room alone to get their last member. Pit groaned to himself.

"I still have two whole Familias to do after this."

He reaches in and pulls out a woman with slightly green tinted skin, long and unkempt black hair, black veins around her face, glowing golden eyes and pointed ears. She wore a slinky black dress that seemed to be made of a combination of feathers and darkness. As she stepped onto solid ground, Pit noticed her bird-like feet with elongated claws. Pit tried his best to give her a fair shake despite his eagerness to move on to the next Familia.

"Welcome to Zindan. How do you fe-Urg!"

Pit is cut off as she chokes him with her foot gripping his neck. She slams his head into the ground as it create a crater and causes Talon to feel pain and rumble. She pants hard as her eyes dart around in confusion of her new surroundings.

"Who are you?! Where is Oropo?!"

Pit tries to force the words out, but her stranglehold tightens.

"My name is...Pit. I don't...know...any...Oropo."

The intensity of her eyes fades as she realizes the boy knows nothing. She releases him as he coughs and breathes heavily.

"You adjusted quickly."

"...I'm an Eniripsa. My kind naturally releases muscle relaxant and pain killers from our bodies. Is this...the afterlife?"

"In a way, yes. What do you remember?"

"I deceived Oropo. The Brotherhood...I sent them through the Hyperzap to the realm of the gods. The Eliacube...it...destroyed the entire universe. A bomb of universal proportions. I guess he was right."

Asura speaks up from the doorway as he makes his way in.

"Interesting. I'd like to hear more about this 'realm of the gods'."

Pit makes a point to quickly introduce the man.

"This is Asura. The God of War."

The woman's eyes widen for a moment.

"God of War? He doesn't look like an Iop. Well, regardless..."

She adjusts herself to the sight of him and presents herself in a modest and polite manner as she gives him a curtsy.

"I am the Lady Echo. I suppose you could call me a Goddess of Fertility. But please don't get the wrong idea."  
She smiled warmly. It was quite a disconnect from the aggression she was showing just a moment ago. Pit quickly remembered that he still had to get back on schedule.

"Ah. Well, you can show her around, Asura. I have to get to work on the next Familia. I kinda left those two alone for quite a while."

Echo showed some interest in Pit's work.

"Oh? Who?"

"Just some guy named Lelouch Vi Britannia and a red headed girl named Pyrrha Nikos. Then I have a whole other Familia after that. Well, see ya."

He waved them off as went through his portal. As soon as he did, Echo turned to Asura; ready to follow him on a tour of her new home. And so he did...reluctantly. After giving her a rudimentary explanation of things, he brought her to meet with the rest of the Familia.

"Greetings. I am the Lady Echo; your newest Familia member. It's a pleasure to meet you all."

Zero scoffed and gave her the cold shoulder.

"I already hate her."

Echo's smile doesn't change.

"I'm sorry to hear that."

Ori is a little cautious of her.

"Sorry. I...had a bad experience with...Owls."

"But I'm not an owl. I'm an Eniripsa."

Lisa walks over to her and lifts up her dress to look underneath. Echo doesn't react as expected. Instead of chastising Lisa; she calmly asks.

"...Are you looking for something?"

Lisa responds monotonously.

"Do you lay eggs?"

Now Echo gets a little mad.

"I'm not a bird!"

A moment of silence passes as everyone in the group curiously glances at her lower zone and tilts their head. Her irritation only grows.

"Stop staring at it!"

Asura stomps his foot, shaking the whole ship.

"Enough. More importantly; we have a full Familia. That means we need to start making our way toward a new goal."

Ori tries to lead.

"Oh. That's right. We should probably choose a destination. But where do we go."

As if she was waiting for an opportunity; Zero less than gracefully jumps in.

"I already checked the radar. There's another Leviathan nearby. We can take them by surprise and kill those bastards before they become a nuisance."

The ship rumbles with anger as it refuses her proposal.

 _No...No attack Mama._

Everyone in the ship is dumbfounded as Zero is the first to voice her confusion.

"The hell?! Mama? Are you stupid?!"

Echo places a hand on Zero's shoulder to calm her down.

"Let it go. I learned the hard way not to try and force a child against their parent."

Zero slaps her hand away.

"Don't touch me and don't talk to me like we're friends! If we can't attack them, what's to stop them from attacking us? They have a radar too. How long do you think it'll be until they notice us?"

Talon speaks to them again.

 _Mama...wanna...talk._  
 _  
_Lisa looks out the window to find Moya right next to them.

"That didn't take long."

 ***I'm gonna post some ideas for future stories on my profile. If you guys want to vote for anything or make suggestions, you can PM me.***


	11. A Bad Time

Pit finishes up organizing the third Familia on their Leviathan which had no name. This Lelouch guy was taking to his role as leader like a fish to water. Completely at home in his element. The same could not be said for the red head, Pyrrha. She had difficulty coming to terms with her death. Pit could tell she had regrets. A love she left behind. But Pit couldn't get a word in to comfort her before an egyptian woman in a black silk dress addressed her first.

"Darling. What good is it to dwell on something as trivial as a man? Learn to smile a bit more and who knows...you might actually remember what it's like to be happy."

The nefarious temptress gave a smile worthy of a magazine cover, but it did little more than just annoy Pyrrha.

"Thanks for the thought, Eliza. But Jean is not just ANY guy."

Eliza snickers.

"Well, I'm sure he seemed nice. But every 'Perfect Man' is only skin deep. You wear your emotions on your sleeve, Darling. It makes you far too easy to read...AND makes you an easy target for a 'nice guy' to advantage of you."

Pyrrha gets very defensive.

"You're wrong! Jean isn't like that!"

Eliza raises an eyebrow as she seems to enjoy pushing Pyrrha's buttons.

"Don't you mean WASN'T like that? He's probably dead too. I mean...if he REALLY loved you; he'd be the Romeo to your Juliet, wouldn't he?"

Pyrrha had no response to that. But the mere thought of her love taking his own life to be with her chilled her to the bone.

"...And speaking of bone..."

Everyone looks toward the skeleton with the blue hoodie, wondering what he's talking about.

"...Name's Sans by the way. Sans the skeleton. You're probably wondering how a skeleton died in the first place and let me tell ya...it was a total Genocide."

Lelouch takes over the conversation.

"Well, we certainly have an interesting group here. What about you? We didn't get your name."

Lelouch gestures to the man in the orange and blue gi and obscenely wild black hair.

"Oh, sorry. My name's Goku. I'm a Saiyan from Earth."

Eliza slides up next to him.

"You don't seem too concerned with our predicament as the little lady over here. Can I assume that means...you have experience. I do appreciate a man with...experience."

Pyrrha wanted to call her out on that blatant harassment, but knew that's exactly what she wanted. Unphased by her implication; Goku responded casually.

"Ooooh yeah. I've died a BUNCH of times. Never been here before. And this kid doesn't look like any angel I've ever seen."

Pit looks somewhat offended, figuring he was referring to his small wings.

"Gozetmek promised to give me bigger wings when I finished my task!"

He looks to be on the verge of tears as Pyrrha awkwardly pats his head in an attempt to comfort him.

"Uh...there there. I'm sure you'll finish soon. I mean...what do you have left to do?"

He wipes his tears and blows his nose in his wings, much to the disgust of everyone else.

"Just one more Familia. Just five people to go. A flower girl, the strongest sword master, a horrific nightmare, an ultimate king and a lost soul."

Lelouch wiggles between Pyrrha and Pit to ask him a question.

"So, that means the other 2 Familias are already fully established and on their journey? Isn't that a little unfair to give them a head start?"

Pit pushes Lelouch away and goes back to hugging Pyrrha as she just rolls with it. Eliza offers answer of sorts to him instead.

"What's wrong, boy? I thought you played chess? Someone has to have the first move. But I'm sure with your...brilliant strategies, we can catch up in no time."

Her voice brimming with sarcasm, but also a touch of irritation. Lelouch picking up on the fact that she doesn't like complaining. Goku then raises his hand for a question.

"Hey...um...what's our team's name? Universe 7 or..."

Pit points at their tattoos before responding.

"Raven Black." ****

Meanwhile in Etherion space nearby a floating mountain, the Royal Blue team boarded Talon as they meet the Pure White team face to face. Sora is the first to greet them.

"Hi there! Nice to meet you. I'm Sora."

Ori makes his way to the front of his group just to wave at Sora.

"H-hello."

Sora kneels down to the miniscule Ori and gently shakes his hand. Mercy and Echo smile at each other. Nico tries to shake Lisa's hand, but she just ignores him. Esdeath and Zero trade death glares. Kamina steps up to Asura and gets right in his face, but neither of them make a move as they stand with their arms crossed.

"So, who talks first?"

Esdeath pinches Kamina's lips closed.

"Bite your tongue. The grown ups are talking."

Sora nervously tries to sound professional.

"Uh...So, your Leviathan...is"

Zero impatiently interrupts.

"He's your ship's son, right? However the hell that works."

Lisa speaks up for once.

"What? You wanna take custody?"

Nico nods excitedly. Relieved that she can in fact speak.

"That's right! You guys can come with us. We can work together to reach Nirvana."

Suddenly, Kamina goes flying backwards in a heap as he collides with the wall behind him; leaving an imprint. Everyone's attention is now on Asura, who only flicked Kamina away with his thumb like a coin. His red aura manifests for the first time since he got here and it's intense enough to make even Esdeath cautious.

"NO. We have our own mission. Nirvana is of no concern to us. I am….WE ARE going to kill Gozetmek."

Everyone on Royal Blue is shocked by this statement, but Nico suddenly has a horrible feeling in his gut. A feeling he only felt once; when he dreamt that he destroyed the sun and with it...the world. Esdeath gets that psychotic look on her face that Sora hates.

"Ooo. I like this guy. He's ambitious. He thinks BIG!"

Kamina pulls himself up.

"Hey! What about me?!"

Her smile fades as she dismisses Kamina.

"You don't think AT ALL."

Sora groans as he returns his attention to Pure White.

"So, that's your answer?"

Zero and Lisa nod affirmatively as Echo just accepts it, but Ori doesn't even make eye contact. Obviously this decision was the hardest for him to come to. Mercy carries Kamina over her shoulder back to Moya as he is still dizzy from being knocked around like a ragdoll. Ori tries to offer some kind of middle ground.

"How about...if we need you, we'll call for you. And vice versa."

Sora will take what he can get at this point.

"...Sure. Well...good luck on your mission to….kill a god."

Zero and Asura speak in synch.

"I don't need luck."

Before Sora, Esdeath, and Nico leave; Echo stops Sora.

"Lord Sora?"

Sora bashfully plays off the compliment.

"Lord? Who? Me?"

Echo offers a respectful bow.

"I thank you for being so understanding. I've had a bad streak of people not tolerating my decisions and… well..."

She pulls off one of her feathers and gives it a kiss as she hands it to Sora.

"...I'm glad you didn't blow us up."

She gives him a genuinely warm smile; which combined with the token of appreciation, caught him off guard. He didn't know what to do, so he just played it safe and respectful and bowed back before going back to Moya. Not turning his back to her; he continued to walk backwards as they both waved and smiled at each other until they were out of sight. But just as Sora turned around, he bumped into Esdeath; almost landing face first into her chest, but thankfully caught himself before that became an issue.

He looked up to her face to see her quite peeved. That menacing aura of murderous intent was back and it made Sora feel like he was shrinking.

"Esdeath? Um...what's up?"

Her expression remains cold and stoic as her tone remains calm, but Sora can feel the anger in her voice.

"Hmm? Oh, nothing. I was just thinking...what do you think is colder? The Etherion space? ...Or my WRATH?"

Toward the end of that sentence her pupils dilated and she grinded her teeth together. Sora tried desperately to find a way to defuse the tension before she really lost her temper.

"Uh...you know...if you wanna play a game or something-"

He couldn't finish his suggestion before she put her finger over his mouth.

"Shhhh. No squirming your way out of this one. You keep giving all these women more consideration and respect than me. And you promised you would TRY. No game or words will be enough. I'm going to need something MORE."

Sora looked around him for an escape as he responded to her.

"...A hug?"

She doesn't answer as she looms over him and slowly walks toward him until his back is against a wall. But before she can make any further advances; Sora is saved by Mercy walking over.

"MERCY! Hi! How's it going?! Do you need me for something?! PLEASE tell me you need me for something!"

Mercy narrows her gaze and puts her hand on Esdeath's shoulder; who struggles not to lose it right on the spot.

"What were you two-"

Esdeath interrupts aggressively.

"None of your business! Did you need something or not?"

Mercy is now exceedingly suspicious of the worst, but has nothing to go on; so she decides not to press the issue anymore than she has to.

"...Sora is needed on deck. Moya specifically wanted to talk to you."

*BOOM*

Esdeath snaps and pulls out her sword as she starts stabbing and kicking the walls.

"OF COURSE! Now I have to compete with a goddamn spaceship!"

Sora takes advantage of the opportunity and grabs Mercy's hand as they sprint off.

"Run."

Esdeath's tantrum causes Moya immense pain as the DRDs come to subdue her rage before she causes serious damage.

"Oh, what?! You want some too?! You little mother fu-OW!"

They begin tazing her one after another. As Sora and Mercy run through the halls, Sora looks to Mercy and gives her a somewhat crazy looking smile while laughing.

"Haha! Ya know...I think I'm starting to get through to her!"

Mercy has a look of dread overcoming her face.

"...Oh no."

 ***It looks like Sora is being affected by Esdeath more than he thought. {Sans:} "Yeah. She really needs to CHILL out." Sans! Stop breaking the forth wall! They're are expensive. ...Also, that was awful. {Sans:} "Guess I gotta FRIGID reception. I'll make sure my jokes are much nICEr next time." ...Looks like the one having a Bad Time is me...and Sora, I guess.***


End file.
